North India Statesman
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Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith scored a brilliant century on the first day of the first Test match against Sri Lanka on the Gaul ground. He completed his 35th Test century by playing an unbeaten innings of 104 runs in 179 balls. He achieved this achievement by running three runs off the second ball of the 78th over by Nishan Peeris. With this century, Smith has made his place in the record book, beating many legendary players.
Smith’s record breaking performance
Steve Smith has now reached seventh position in the list of most centuries in Test cricket. He surpassed former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, Pakistan’s Unis Khan, West Indies’ Brian Lara and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 34-34 centuries in his career. Smith has now become the second batsman to score the most Test century for Australia, while the first place is Ricky Ponting (41). Sachin Tendulkar (51) holds the record of the most Test centuries.
New record under Smith’s captaincy
Taking the command of the Australian team in this match, Smith had the distinction of becoming the fourth batsman to score the most Test century as captain. He broke the record of Alan Border and Steve Waugh, who scored 15–15 Test centuries while captain. Graeme Smith (25) ranks first in this list, while Virat Kohli (20) and Ricky Ponting (19) are second and third respectively.
Smith and Khwaja’s partnership
Batting first, Australia made a good start of 97 runs for the first wicket, including the contribution of Usman Khwaja and Travis Head. Head scored 57 runs, while Khwaja returned unbeaten after scoring 147 runs in 210 balls. Smith and Khwaja together shared a 195 -run partnership for the third wicket, making Australia’s score 330/2 in 81.1 overs.
Steve Smith and Usman Khwaja’s brilliant batting has brought Australia to a strong position, and their innings may prove to be important for the team in the coming days.
